Travels in Turkey

On March 4 we left for an amazing week in Turkey, on both the European and the Asian side, which was definitely the highlight of our time here thus far.  Instead of recounting exactly what happened everyday while we were there, here are my top 10 highlights of our week:
10. The hotels- Seriously I feel like a VIP on this trip.  We have stayed in some amazing hotels in various locations that I could never afford to do outside this trip.  We stayed three nights on beach side hotels which made for stunning pictures and great views.

 By the beach near Troy






Grace, me and Travis

Claire, me and Sarah- as you can tell it was more than a little cold and windy

9. The food- The food is good pretty much everywhere we go, but in Turkey it was amazing!  We had lamb or fish every night, which is just wonderful.  And don't even get me started on the wonder that is baklava!

8. The wooden horse at Troy- Everyone's seen the new movie of Troy (mainly because it's starring Brad Pitt and Orlando Bloom) so of course when I got to Troy the ruins were a slight letdown in comparison to Troy in the movie.  But they were still lots of fun: dancing in the Odeon, having a mock battle of Troy, etc.  But of course the best part for all of us students was climbing in the massive wooden horse.

7. Bonfires on the beach- Our first night at a beach front hotel we had a bonfire on the beach.  It was right after dinner during low tide and we had an enormous fire.  And of course, as with anything we do, it just turned out to be a dance party for a few hours that went up and down the beach and probably disturbed all of our neighbors, but was so much fun.
6. Grand Bazaar- In Istanbul we spent a few hours at the Grand Bazaar, which is just a few thousand shops all lined up in the same area, selling so many different things.  There were the typical tourist shops, but there were also a lot of other shops for clothes and jewelry and food.  IT was so exciting to walk around and see all the different things you could buy and foods you could try. 

5. Blue Mosque- Right to the side of the hippodrome in the middle of Istanbul is the amazing Blue Mosque.  With it's 6 spires, it's one of the grandest mosques in the world, second only to the Kaaba in Mecca.  And it is one amazing place.  Thousands of people go there to worship and to pray or on tours to see the amazing blue tile work.

 Claire, Sarah and me in the Blue Mosque

 Some of the amazing tile work and painting done inside the mosque

4. Istanbul (was Constantinople, now it's Istanbul, not Constantinople...)- Istanbul is an incredible city mixed with modern and ancient buildings and culture.  And it's a mixture of historical Christianity and modern Islam, lots of early churches (including two of the Ayasofias) have been turned into mosques.  And with Istanbul being split between Europe and Asia, right on the water, there are some wonderful views.  One of the best views was from the amazing Topkapi Palace where you could see over the Golden Horn and the Bosporous Strait to the other side.

 





At the Topkapi Palace

With Claire and Sarah at the Palace

In the gardens of the Topkapi Palace overlooking the Golden Horn with Janae, Sarah and Claire

3. A Plethora of Boat Rides- On this trip we probably took three or four different boat trips across different bodies of water, and they were great.  It may have been freezing cold on deck but that's where we spent all of our time.  Our first boat excursion was a cruise on the Bosporous Strait with Europe on one side and Asia on the other at sunset.  You don't get many more spectacular views than that.  We also had a few journeys on ferries with our bus which were equally fun: feeding the seagulls, doing the Titanic pose, running up and down the decks, and taking lots
2. Ephesus- Ever since my Granny went to Ephesus a year ago it has been a dream of mine, one I have now fulfilled.  Ephesus is the coolest Roman city I have ever seen with the biggest amphitheatre, and incredible hospital, really nice public toilets, and an fantastic library that reminded me a bit of the architecture of the Treasury at Petra.  We had such a great time there, especially when we reenacted Paul's visit to the Ephesians with much enthusiasm in the amphitheatre in front of a few hundred tourists. 
and.......
1. Hagia Sophia- Probably the most amazing church on earth!  The Hagia Sophia used to be a church but was turned into a mosque and then a museum for all the tourists and let me tell you it is so amazing!  It's got amazing mosaics of Christ and Mary and other Christian figures and angels, but it also has lots of the Islam calligraphy that goes with mosques.  And it's so big and impressive too.  They  had this "wishing pillar" where, rumor had it, an angel granted the wish of someone and now people believe that if you can stick your thumb in the hole and move your hand in a full circle around while making a wish, that wish will come true.  So of course our entire class had to try it.  I was successful in making it all the way around, but I'm still a poor college student and not a multimillionaire, so I can't vouch for the validity of the "wishing pillar".
(I would put pictures up here but the internet has pretty much stopped working, so look for more pictures at a later date!)

Overall, the Turkey trip was amazing and I had such a great time, I'm already planning on going back someday when I can afford it!  And you're all invited!!!!! (if you can pay for yourself :) )